Words Unspoken
by EnglandBabe1997
Summary: Fury altered the message for Tony in Iron Man 2. Tony isn't surprised, Bruce is angry and Steve is confused. And then he is horrified. (Written for the prompt on LiveJournal.)


**I wrote this after finding this . ?thread=2524113#t2524113 x I know it's already been filled, but I couldn't get it out of my head x I involved Bruce because I thought he'd be really protective over Tony, especially after the events of the movie x Please read and review, and tell me if you find any errors - I wrote this all tonight x I think this will be a one-shot, but it depends on the reception I get xx **

Steve makes his way slowly down the stairs to find Tony and Bruce in the lab, holograms hovering around them like very persistent bees. They had all been living together in Stark Tower, now Avengers Tower, for almost three months and between the five of them, occasionally six, there was enough tension to dissuade anyone else from joining them.

Agents Romanoff (Natasha, because only Clint could call her Tasha and only Tony was insane enough to attempt Nat) and Barton (call me Clint) were upstairs, sparring in the training room. The last time he'd poked his head around the door Clint had been nursing a split lip and black eye, but had Natasha in a hold that had the heat rising to Steve's cheeks, not yet used to this century.

Thor was currently on Asgard, which left Tony and Bruce. He and Tony would probably never get on well, their inability to stand each other their most difficult issue. On the battle field it was rarely an issue, but they rarely got along when the world wasn't in imminent danger. Doctor Banner (Bruce) got along with everyone - he had to. If he didn't, they had a very large, very green problem.

Even as he backs away, up the stairs (after all, you only had to be worried if Tony was alone in his lab, with Bruce there wasn't even nearly as much of an issue), he catches sight of the video that is playing on almost all of the screens.

It is Howard.

Steve freezes, for just a moment, long enough to hear what Howard said.

"_What is and will always be, my greatest creation is you._"

Steve cringes at the voice, because he misses Howard, just like he misses everyone else, and it hasn't actually been all that long since he last spoke with them.

Not really long enough for it to sink in that they'll never speak again.

All that's left is Tony.

And he thinks they both know that. And it's not enough for either of them. Steve doesn't even know why Tony flinches and then bares his teeth when Howard is mentioned, like an animal cornered.

Steve backs away, missing the steps completely and almost falling over. He makes enough noise that Bruce looks up and catches his eye, something like hatred in his gaze that doesn't soften even when he realises who it is.

Tony doesn't even look up, too engrossed with the videos.

"He sounds proud."

Tony freezes, back stiffening, and Bruce, for some reason, bristles like Steve has just personally offended him. Steve doesn't know what he's said though, so he'll keep pushing. It's a bit of a personal fault of his - he pushes until he's worked out what's wrong and then how to fix it.

"Maybe."

Steve wants to say that he sounds a lot more than maybe proud, but something in Bruce's gaze keeps him silent.

"It's not real though."

Steve wants to ask how this cannot be real, but Tony still hasn't even looked at him yet.

"Me and Bruce, we've counted what fifty two separate splices? We can't quite agree on a couple more of them," Tony bites out flatly, like each word tastes vile in his mouth, as vile as it is for Steve to hear.

Steve gapes.

"I didn't notice it the first time round - to busy being poisoned by palladium to really notice the difference. Even now, Fury didn't get to where he is without being good at what he does. And he's good at faking stuff like this."

Steve knows, Phil Coulson is a perfect example of that, but he doesn't want to think about what that means.

Tony smirks, but his eyes are blank. "It was what I needed I suppose. To get me moving."

"Why did it have to be edited?" Steve asks desperately, searching for any answer except the obvious one.

Tony says nothing, but looks at him pityingly. Bruce continues to glare, but his hand finds its way on to Tony's shoulder and settles there. Steve can see his fingers curl in and grasp him tightly, as though to reassure himself that Tony is still there.

The inventor turns back to the videos, scrutinising them.

Steve can't help but ask, "What are the videos from then? Who are they for?" He wants to know what Howard's greatest creation is, what's more important than his family, than his son.

Tony tenses again and doesn't turn around, but he pauses the playback.

With the glare that Bruce is giving him, Steve is surprised he doesn't spontaneously catch into flames.

"I wonder," Bruce spits out, a hint of pity in his voice at the actual bewilderment in the Captain's eyes. "Well considering that there are some interesting maps of the arctic circle in some of the shots that have been impressively layered over, I don't think it's hard to guess. He didn't exactly create polar bears, now did he?"

The obvious hits Steve like a meteorite, what with Bruce's burning gaze and Tony's inability to even look at him. Horror rises in his throat at the thought of his friend, his old friend, ignoring his son to this extent in favour of him. He'd _never_ wanted anything like this, never expected to be remembered at all, not really.

Not to this extent.

He knows that he and Tony don't get on, but it's a two way problem, and now he thinks he's realised what issues Tony's been having on his end. He doesn't blame the inventor at all - not for this. There may be many things about Tony Stark that infuriate him, but this is something of his own making.

"Didn't you ever hear him say it for yourself?" He asks quietly as he starts making his way back up the stairs, so quietly he might get away without being heard. He can't fix this, he doesn't even know where to start.

"No." Tony's voice echoes in the stillness and Steve can feel the heat on his back that tells him exactly where Bruce is glaring.

Steve pauses at the top of the stairway, for just a second. "I'm sorry," he whispers into the silence and before the words can carry he slips out of the door, back into the rest of the Tower, needing nothing more than to think.


End file.
